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Let’s walk the talk

By Bill Cruzfrom Nisswa on Aug 27, 2014 at 3:25 p.m.

As our community gets ready to start another school year, excitement from both teachers and students, starting fresh and new. There’s also excitement as our school district begins a new chapter with a new superintendent and his leadership and ideas to prepare our children for their future. It will be difficult. In my opinion our county has one of the highest unemployment rates, the city faces the same along with foreclosure rates. A new style and vision is surely needed to change the fact that four of our six elementary schools are designated Title I, yet 78 percent of district monies goes towards payroll. But the superintendent won’t be able to do it alone, our school board, too, needs a fresh start. The realities of circumstances are not reflected in decisions made, when you look at the tandem results of recent meetings, such as (1) pay for lower sports facilities and overages and eliminate 18 staff positions, (2) raise property taxes using loophole while giving raises to administrators, and that’s just recently, yet demonstrates the overall view that needs to change. It’s time for serious reflection about where we as a district are and where we need to go, and make moves to get there. Now is the time to chart a new course, to give all our children a fighting chance to succeed and raise a family in this world. Let’s take advantage of this new start, and stop talking about it and start walking the talk.